About Me

Prior to this, I worked as a professional musician, both as a performer and as a musical director. The Alexander Technique helped me to recover from injury and also to improve the way that I performed as a musician and in many other areas of my life.

I have been fortunate to be able to give lessons, courses and workshops in the technique since graduating. My pupils come from a wide range of careers and interests and I have also specialised in working with musicians. I continue to teach many professional and student musicians from the Jazz, Classical and Popular Music world.

Past institutional clients include:

Individual Lessons

The most effective way of learning the technique is to take a course of individual lessons.

Lessons are taught at my home in Heaton Mersey and last for approx 45 minutes.

Individual lessons currently cost £40 per session. Concessionary rates may be available on request.

Sometimes the cost of lessons will be covered by private medical insurance. It is always worth checking with your insurer if you are considering lessons because of a medical condition. The following insurers have been known to fund lessons:

What is the Alexander Technique?

The Alexander Technique is a skill for self-development teaching you to change long-standing habits that cause unnecessary tension in everything you do.

Whatever your age or ability, the Technique can help boost your performance in any activity and relieve the pain and stress caused by postural habits, like slouching or rounded shoulders.

Everyday things like tensing when the phone rings, rushing to pick up the children from school or worrying about deadlines lead to physical and mental strain. Over the years, this accumulates and can cause illness, injury or common aches and pains that may seem to come from nowhere.

Working with your teacher, you will learn to recognise your usual reactions to the stresses of life. You will find out how you have been contributing to your problems, how to prevent them and regain control.

A method of re-education

You learn to recognise your harmful habits, how to stop and think, and to choose a better response.

Gradually you learn to apply your new understanding and skill in everyday activities and more complex ones, to bring awareness and poise into everything you do.

Just like riding a bike, once learned, the Technique stays with you for life!

Self-Awareness

The Technique teaches us the skilful ”use of the self”, i.e. how we use ourselves when moving, resting, breathing, learning, organising our awareness and focus of attention and, above all, choosing our reactions to increasingly demanding situations.

Changes brought about by good habits of diet and exercise are well understood. The long-term effects of good habits of the ”use of the self” are less well known, but equally life-changing.

You learn to become aware of, and then gradually strip away, the habits of movement, tension and reaction that interfere with natural and healthy coordination.

Balanced body, balanced mind

Coordination and poise rely on the natural balance of the head, neck and back, what F M Alexander called “the primary control”. The Technique works through re-establishing this natural balance to promote easy upright posture and efficient functioning, body and mind.

The Alexander Technique is a subtle and thoughtful discipline, but essentially practical and problem-solving.

Musicians

As a professional musician, I have always had a special interest in how the Alexander Technique can help musicians.

Alexander Technique is an integral part of the training of singers and instrumentalists around the world and is taught in all major conservatoires.

A large part of my experience of working with the technique has been with musicians. The technique can benefit musicians in the following ways: